He never raised his voice, he never explicitly threatened anyone, he didn't brandish a weapon and he turned himself in before police caught up with him.

For those reasons, Chief Assistant Lake County Prosecutor Karen Kowall agreed with Caputo's attorney that eight years in prison was enough for robbing four banks last spring.

"This case was challenging in that it didn't fit the classic definition of a bank robbery," Kowall said. "In all four of these cases, bank robberies were going on and nobody even knew it was happening."

Caputo, 40, of Willowick, pleaded guilty to four counts of robbery and one count of failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer immediately before being sentenced Friday.

"I believe the prosecutor has been more than fair with the sentence," Caputo said. "I know I could have been hammered much harder.

Caputo turned himself in to Eastlake police on May 23 after his photo was released to media outlets.

He admitted stealing $3,400 from Chase Bank in Willowick on April 30. He also stole $3,022 from PNC Bank in Willoughby May 14, $1,414 from Chase Bank in Wickliffe May 17 and $633 from Dollar Bank in Eastlake May 19.

In all the robberies, Caputo quietly passed a note to the teller demanding cash. He escaped from police in a minivan, but bank surveillance videos clearly showed his identity.